Scripture Foresaw

Galatians 3:8-9 - The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

1 Timothy 5:18 - For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."

Romans 4:18 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Hebrews 11:19 - Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Conclusions:

• Scripture foresaw is a personification of Scripture that calls attention to its divine origin
• The use of Scripture for both an Old Testament and a New Testament passage shows that by the time of 1 Timothy portions of the New Testament were considered to be equal in authority to the Old Testament Scriptures
• Paul develops Abraham as a man of faith at length
• When all hope, as a human possibility, failed, Abraham placed his hope in God
• So strong was Abraham's faith that he actually believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead if necessary, an event that did occur figuratively when the substitute ram was provided

Application:

• Do you see Scripture as divinely inspired?
• Do you place your hope in God?
• Is your faith strong enough to believe that God can do anything?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Children Of God

Galatians 3:6-7 - Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

Genesis 15:6 - Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:3,12 - What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."… And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

John 8:31 - To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Conclusions:

• Abram is the father of all who believe, and Genesis 15:6 is the first specific reference to faith in God's promises
• It also teaches that God graciously responds to a man's faith by crediting righteousness to him
• Romans 4:3 references Genesis 15:6, where nothing is mentioned about works
• Abraham had kept no law, rendered no service and performed no ritual that earned credit to his account before God
• Abraham's belief in God, who had made promises to him, was credited to him as righteousness
• Abraham was the physical and spiritual father of the Jewish race
• In Galatians 3:7, all believers are called Abraham's spiritual children
• All believers are also referred to as the seed or descendants of Abraham
• Believed in John 8:31 seems to mean made a formal profession of faith
• The Jew's words in John 8 show that they are not true believers
• Abraham is also the father of believing Jews
• Thus Abraham's story shows that for Jew and Gentile alike there is only one way of justification--the way of faith

Application:

• Has righteousness been credited to you?
• Do you think keeping laws, rendering service and performing rituals credits righteousness to you?
• Are you a true believer?
• Do you believe you are justified by faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Miracles

Galatians 3:3-5,10 - Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?... All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 - To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Galatians 2:15-16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• Both salvation and sanctification are the work of the Holy Spirit
• Human effort is the flesh, a reference to human nature in its unregenerate weakness
• Trying to achieve righteousness by works, including circumcision, was a part of life in the flesh
• Paul hopes that those who have been misled will return to the true gospel
• In Scripture a miracle is an action that cannot be explained by natural means
• A miracle is an act of God intended as evidence of His power and purpose
• Prophecy is a communication of the mind of God imparted to a believer by the Holy Spirit
• Prophecy may be a prediction or an indication of the will of God in a given situation
• Since there can also be false prophecies that come from evil spirits, distinguishing between spirits is necessary in order to distinguish the true from the false
• Since the Greek word for tongues means languages or dialects, some understand different kinds of tongues to refer to the ability to speak in unlearned human languages, as the apostles did on the day of Pentecost
• Others believe that the term tongues refers to both earthly and heavenly languages, including ecstatic languages of praise and prayer
• Interpretation of tongues is the communication of the message spoken in a tongue so that hearers can understand and be edified

Application:

• Has the Holy Spirit communicated the mind of God to you?
• Do you refuse God's offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works?
• Have you put your faith in Christ Jesus?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Spirit

Galatians 3:1-2,10 - You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?... All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

John 20:22 - And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 2:16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• The Galatians were not mentally deficient but simply failed to use their powers of perception
• Legalistic Judaizers had bewitched the Galatians
• Portrayed as crucified means to publicly portray or placard as crucified like the bronze snake that Moses displayed on a pole
• From Galatians 3:2 on Paul refers to the Holy Spirit 16 times
• Receive the Holy Spirit anticipates what happens 50 days later on the day of Pentecost
• The disciples needed God’s help to carry out the commission they had just been given
• Rely on observing the law is a reference to legalists—those who refuse God’s offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works
• No one under the law ever perfectly kept the law because they are under a curse
• God’s blessing has never been earned, but has always been freely given
• Galatians 2:16 is a key verse
• Three times Galatians 2:16 tells us that no one is justified by observing the law, and three times it underscores the indispensable requirement of placing one’s faith in Christ
• Paul is not depreciating the law itself, for he clearly maintained that God’s law is holy, righteous and good
• Paul is arguing against an illegitimate use of the Old Testament law that made the observance of that law the grounds of acceptance with God
• Justified by faith is the essence of the gospel message
• Faith is the means by which justification is received, not its basis

Application:

• Has God helped you to carry out the commission you have been given?
• Are you relying on observing the law?
• Have you put your faith in Christ Jesus?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Antioch

Galatians 2:7-12 - On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

Acts 4:36-37 - Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 13:2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Romans 4:12 - And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Conclusions:

• Paul’s ministry was not exclusively to the Gentiles
• Paul regularly went first to the synagogue when arriving in a new location
• Paul did consider himself to be foremost an apostle to the Gentiles
• Pillars is a common metaphor for those who represent and strongly support an institution
• Right hand of fellowship is a common practice among both Hebrews and Greeks, indicating a pledge of friendship
• Barnabas was used in Acts 4:36 as a good example of giving
• In this way Luke introduces the one who will become an important companion of Paul
• Barnabas was a great hearted leader who contributed significantly to the life and ministry of the early church
• From Antioch Paul had been sent out on his missionary journeys
• Peter was in the wrong for yielding to the pressure of the circumcision party, those going against what he knew to be right
• Paul’s first missionary journey did not result from a planning session but from the Spirit’s initiative as the leaders worshiped
• The communication from the Holy Spirit may have come through the prophets
• The circumcision group were Judaizers, who believed that circumcision was necessary for salvation
• Abraham is also the father of believing Jews
• Abraham’s story shows that for Jew and Gentile alike there is only one way of justification—the way of faith

Application:

• Do you contribute to the life and ministry of the church?
• Do your journeys result from the Holy Spirit's initiative?
• Have you been justified faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Freedom

Galatians 2:4 - This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

Acts 1:16 - In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."

Galatians 5:13 - You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Romans 6:18,22 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Conclusions:

• False brothers were Judaizers who held that Gentile converts should be circumcised and obey the law of Moses
• Free and freedom are key words in Galatians, occurring 11 times
• Both before and after Christ came, numerous psalms were viewed as Messianic
• What happened in the psalmist’s experience was typical of the experiences of the Messiah
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love
• A Christian has changed masters
• Whereas a Christian was formerly a slave to sin, he becomes a willing servant to righteousness
• Slavery to God produces holiness, and the end of the process is eternal life
• There is no eternal life without holiness
• Anyone who has been justified will surely give evidence of that fact by the presence of holiness in his life
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans—to mean a controlling power; God’s law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• The law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• Unity in Christ transcends ethnic, social and male/female distinctions

Application:

• Do you see the psalms as Messianic?
• Do you see liberty as freedom to serve God and others in love?
• Are you a willing servant to righteousness?
• Is there evidence of the presence of holiness in your life?
• Have you been set free from the controlling power of sin?
• Are you ethnically and socially unified in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Had Run My Race In Vain

Galatians 2:2-3 - I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 9:21 - To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.

Conclusions:

• Paul recognized the authority of those who seemed to be leaders, and is probably referring to James, Peter and John
• The Spirit searches all things, not in order to know them, for He knows all things
• The Spirit comprehends the depth of God’s nature and His plans of grace; so He is fully competent to make the revelation claimed in 1 Corinthians 2:10
• Because of Christ’s resurrection and ours, we know that serving Him is not empty, useless activity
• Our effort is invested in the Lord’s winning cause
• The Lord will also reward us at His second coming
• Those not having the law are those who have not been raised under the Old Testament law
• Paul accommodated himself to Gentile culture when it did not violate his allegiance to Christ, though he still reckoned that he was under God’s law and Christ’s teachings

Application:

• Has God revealed Himself to me by His Spirit?
• Is my effort invested in the Lord's winning cause?
• Do I accommodate myself to the culture if it does not violate my allegiance to Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible